Go-ahead for the first integrated digital project in Italy for dyslexia

The initiative, developed by Fondazione Telecom Italia in accordance with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education, Universities and Research and in collaboration with Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital and the Italian Dyslexia Association, aims to disseminate tools and competences for a better approach to dyslexia in Italy

Fondazione Telecom Italia, Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education, Universities and Research (MIUR) today unveiled in Rome an innovative integrated digital project for the development of technological tools in response to specific needs for dyslexia, accessible to families, teachers, students and paediatricians through a single portal.

Amongst others, the presentation involved Beatrice Lorenzin, Minister of Health, Davide Faraone, Undersecretary of State Ministry for Education, Universities and Research and Giuseppe Recchi, Executive Chairman of the Telecom Italia Group and the Foundation.

It is an important initiative aimed at promoting a cultural change in Italy on the matter of dyslexia, through the introduction of innovative digital tools in support of children, teenagers and adults, to guide them in making informed choices.

The project will take place over the next 18 months with three initiatives dealing with the matter in a systemic fashion, developed by Fondazione Telecom Italia in collaboration with Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital and the Italian Dyslexia Association (AID), each bringing their own specific competences to the respective areas of activity.

More specifically, through the portal and a dedicated app, developed by Istituto Superiore di Sanità in collaboration with the CNR Istituto di Scienze Applicate & Sistemi Intelligenti, families can carry out ultra-early screening of communication disorders and, by acquiring timely data, it will be possible to use standard protocols to identify the cases of children at risk.

For school-age children, teenagers and adults, again by accessing the same platform, a remote appraisal can be performed, prepared by Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, with a potential on-line recovery process for reading difficulties and a final session with verification of learning.

Finally, continuing on with the interventions already carried out in collaboration with the AID, specific e-learning sessions will be held for teachers and school staff, based on a standard protocol prepared together with the MIUR, which will involve around 30% of schools.

The project as a whole will also help create a single observatory in Italy of the data on the diagnosis, the schools “friends” of Dyslexia, on the use of digital books and compensatory tools and effective treatments.

Fondazione Telecom Italia has played a forefront role in the matter of Dyslexia since 2009, with a multi-year programme that has enabled the realisation of screening protocols, IT campuses, digital books and the dissemination of a more inclusive approach in schools.

In 2015 Fondazione Telecom Italia, with the participation of nine Italian specialists (identified in the scientific field, in hospitals and associations), defined the actions to be taken to find a solution to a disorder that in Italy affects around 2,000,000 people, of whom 350,000 students, equal to 4.5% of the school-age population, not all of whom have as yet been diagnosed.

With this new project, Fondazione Telecom Italia confirms its commitment alongside the institutions and families in the social field, intending to promote not only a better use of new technologies, but also a good management capacity to increasingly help “do good well”.

Rome, 04 February 2016

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